One of the eeriest and most spine-chilling scenes in the entireHobbittrilogy film adaptations is the scene in which Gandalf ventures into the tombs high up on the feels of Rhudaur, to investigate whether rumors of the Necromancer raising people from the dead are true. He is first tipped off to the possibilityby Beorn, who informs the gray wizard that packs of orcs have been gathering there, and that an alliance has formed between the orcs of Moria and the Sorcerer of Dol-Guldor. Although this is alarming, Gandalf doesn’t seem too worried, until Beorn continues, telling him: “Not long past, word spread that the dead had been seen walking near the high fells of Rhudaur.”
At this moment, Gandalf hears Galadriel’s voice in his head, and hears the words that she warned him of at their last White Council meeting: “When Angmar fell, the men of the North took his body and all that he possessed and sealed in the high fells. Deep within the rock, they buried him. In a tomb so dark that it would never come to light.” This is his first suspicion that the so-called sorcerer who has recently come to his attention in Dol-Guldur may be far more ominous and dangerous than he at first believed. Gandalf decides it is time to investigate.
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Viewers who have seen theextended edition scenewill know that the path up into the tomb is a precarious one, involving many steep steps, sharp drops, and rusted metal spikes sticking out at every angle. Luckily Gandalf has his glowing staff to light the way, and has askedhis trusted ally Radagastto meet him. Together, they go into the tombs and peer into the grave. There, they find that it is empty, and that the body of the old king of Angmar has in fact risen, alongside the eight other corpses that were buried next to him. Beorn was right: the dead have been seen walking around, and thusthe sorcerer is revealed to be a necromancer, a magical being who dabbles in the worst kind of dark magic of Middle Earth. What’s more, Gandalf soon connects the dots between the nine who have risenbeing the nine ring-wraiths, and therefore deduces that the Necromancer must Sauron, who is their one true master.
This is definitely an exposition that was put in by Peter Jackson and the writers to fill in more context, and extendThe Hobbitfilms into a trilogy. Tolkien does write within his original texts that Gandalf must depart on his own quest, leaving the dwarves and Bilbo at the edge of the forest of Mirkwood, as is the case in the movies. However, in the book, his exact doings during his time apart from them is never revealed in any great detail.
In the film, once they have discovered that the bodies have disappeared from Angmar and that the Necromancer may be Sauron, whom everyone had presumed to be gone forever, Gandalf wishes to rush off to warn Thorin and the others of the impending danger. He feels as though he has sent them into a trap by encouraging them to take back Erebor. He now knows that there will be a whole host of orcs there waiting, and that the company are going in without really understanding the gravity of the wider impact this battle could have on the rest of the world. But this is exactly why he cannot rush off to join them just yet. As Radagast reminds him, there is an immediate issue that must be tackled. He and the other members of the White Council must go to Dol-Guldur and discover exactly how much strength Sauron has regained, and exactly how close he is to being able to rise once more.
Gandalf must subsequently trust Thorin and the others to be able to look after themselves and to complete the questwithout their gray wizard guiding them. Unfortunately, this doesn’t go quite according to plan of course. Thorin falls to dragon-sickness, and is killed in the ambush that lies in wait for him. In the meantime, Gandalf and Radagast are forced to take their findings to the others, and confirm that the bodies in the tombs (the most notable of whom will later become the Witch-King of Angmar) are gone.
They soon encounter the spirits in a much more physical, visceral form. Many fans hated this aspect of the film because of the poor CGI, but it confirms their worst fears about the dark lord’s return. What’s more, it creates a perfect setup forThe Hobbitfilms to lead directly into the events of theLord of the Rings60 years later.
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